WASTE disposal could be one of the key issues for voters in Runnymede ahead of the county council elections on June 4, with the controversial proposals to build an incinerator in Longcross, near Chertsey, dividing opinion across all parties.

The plans, which would see an Energy from Waste facility treating up to 160,000 tonnes of household waste a year, have attracted widespread opposition from campaigners in the borough.

Runnymede is currently home to five Conservative county councillors and one from Labour, with four main parties fielding a candidate in all six divisions this year.

Peter Key, who is standing for the Liberal Democrats in Addlestone, said the party was hopeful of making progress and particularly banking on students at Royal Holloway University to cast their votes.

“We’re hopeful in Englefield Green because an awful lot of the electorate are students,” he said.

“We think there will be a low turnout because not many students vote, but we’re hoping this year we will have some help from those that do.

“We are opposed to the incinerator at Trumps Farm, and also the Airtrack proposal because it will affect Chertsey and Addlestone as well as Egham.”

John Furey, Conservative leader of Runnymede Borough Council, is standing in the county council elections for the first time after the retirement of Addlestone councillor Terry Tix.

He said the Conservatives’ chances at local level were “being dented by politicians in Parliament”, as the expenses row rumbles on and voters threaten to either stay at home or back one of the fringe parties.

“We know that [Runnymede MP] Phillip Hammond is not on a list anywhere, he has claimed [expenses] but they are way down towards the bottom end of the list,” Cllr Furey said.

“We have been able to say this is not something that occurs in Runnymede. My concern is that the electorate may not bother and it is so important that people vote.

“We are a good, well run borough and we need the support of residents all the time, not just at the good times but also when there is a hint that all politicians are discredited.”

He urged voters to keep faith with the Tory-run county council, which received a one-star rating from the Audit Commision last year.

“Surrey County Council put up their hands and said they made a mistake. What has been put in place since then will sort the problems out,” Cllr Furey said.

But Paul Greenwood, the Labour Party’s Runnymede branch secretary, said it was time for a change and is backing two of the party’s young candidates to challenge the Conservative establishment.

Roxanne Mashari, 22, will be defending one of just two seats in the county currently held by Labour as veteran councillor Ray Lowther stands down after more than 50 years in politics.

Fellow Royal Holloway student Sebastian Michnowicz will challenge for the Englefield Green seat, and Mr Greenwood (himself a Runnymede borough councillor) said youth was just what the county needed.

“Many of our county councillors are more senior members. Roxanne and Sebastian are fresh young minds to bring a new perception to county council politics.”

He said the county would continue to fail in areas like children’s services if something did not change at the top.

“[The council] has been a disaster over the last decade, particularly in the past few years as our services have been rated one of the worst in the country,” he said.

“We have lost millions in bad investments and we have gone from bad to worse in services.”

He added that the proposed incinerator at Trumps Farm was a huge concern for Labour.

“We’re very concerned about the proposals for what they’re going to put in there. It is not a suitable place for it,” he said.

“What concerns us is the huge traffic implications, major lorries going down our residential roads to get to and from the site.”

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) has someone standing in each division in Runnymede, and Chertsey candidate Christopher Browne believes the party can progress further this year.

“We have done very well in Chertsey and Englefield Green in recent borough elections so we particularly expect good things again,” he said.

“I think with the political climate as it is at the moment we hope to do well, I’ve been finding on the streets that people are disillusioned.”

He added his voice to the anti-incinerator crowd, insisting that the county can continue to send waste to landfill for some time yet.

“The incinerator has been imposed on us as the result of EU directives. How you can have one directive for the whole of Europe for waste disposal is beyond me,” he said.

“We have many, many sites where waste can be put in landfill, there’s no need [for incinerators]. They pollute the air anyway, so it’s like throwing the baby out with the bath water.”

For a full list of county council election candidates in Runnymede, clickhere.